The Mockingjays' World
by mockingjayfire
Summary: A collection of one-shots of how the many tributes felt during various events in the Games. Includes some tribute deaths, also a one-shot about a certain type of bird... Please read and review! All reviews are gladly appreciated.
1. A World With No Troubles: Rue

**A World With No Troubles**

Rue's POV

_It's the day of my first reaping. I get up early, as usual, and race outside to begin the day singing to my favorite mockingjays. Reap comes up first. He's a male, and he has the characteristic black spots of a male. He's my best singer. Then comes his mate, Gyana. She's my next favorite singer. They call to each other, bringing food to their nest for their three chicks. How I wish I could be a mockingjay, in a world with no troubles..._

_"Rue Wesley!"_

_At first I don't even recognize the name. Who's Rue? Then I realize. No, no, no, no....how could it happen? I had nine slips. Most people had at least twelve in their first year. One for Mama, one for Papa, five for my siblings, one for me, and one because I had to. As I walk up to the podium, I have an awful thought: How will my family survive this? If I die? How will they, with seven mouths to feed and only four people old enough to work in the fields? Then Thresh walks up. I've always admired him. he worked in the corn fields, where the workers bear scythes to cut the stalks. Surely he has a chance at winning. And if he wins, my family will not starve..._

_Suddenly, I remember this morning. Oh, how I wish I could live in a mockingjay's world..._

I hike to my second fire and light it to distract the Careers. The cruel, bloodthirsty Careers who treat the Games like a celebration, just itching to join the fight and kill people. I feed the fire and think about Katniss. The older sister I never had. I heard she had a sister too, a twelve year old named Prim, after Primrose. It's not edible like katniss, but it is still a hopeful name. A flower. Rue is a flower too, but it tastes of regret. Regret that because I was born, I would have to face hunger and the reaping. Katniss is so strong as well. She had to work to survive. District Twelve is not as heavily guarded as Eleven, so she goes to the woods to hunt and learn skills like trapping.

Eleven is a different world. I remember one day...

_She was a girl. Her name was Cicely, and she was younger than me, but her family was worse off. While I went to the Meadow to scavenge for dandelions and pokeweed, she was starving. I was two years older than her, so I gave her some of my finds. She was so pitiful, grabbing the greens like her life depended on it and raced home to feed her family._

_After that, I took her under my wing. I taught her how to gather plants, and what kinds were edible. But her family of ten could not survive on a basketful of greens a day. I warned her to never dare to enter the woods, but she was desperate and did not heed my warning..._

_That day, as I went to the Meadow, I noticed she was not there. I panicked and called her name. "Cicely! Cicely!" I called, and I spotted her making for the woods. I kept quiet and hoped that the guards did not see her. But they did, and I watched one of them aim at the eight-year-old, and fire..._

_I remember thinking that she was in a better place. She was in a place with hope now._

_After that, I tried to keep her family alive. Thresh was Cicely's big brother, but he was deathly sick that time, leaving the family without a supporter. I gathered some medicinal plants for him, and he got well enough to return to the fields. I never saw the family starving after that._

_Still, Cicely was like a little sister to me...._

I shake the memory off, concentrating on finding enough tinder for the third fire. I spot a large dry log, and I hurry after it. Suddenly, I'm in a large net. I'm trapped, but I keep quiet. Katniss must be still working on the pyramid, and I can't risk having the Careers kill me.

Suddenly, I hear loud booms. Good. Katniss must be demolishing the food pile. I wonder how she did it. The explosions continue through the afternoon, and soon it is dark. I take out Katniss's sleeping bag and snuggle up, hoping that Katniss finds me before the Careers do.

It's morning now. I think it's safe, so I whistle my four-note run to a curious mockingjay. He looks just like Reap...

He sings it again, mesmerized by my voice, and flies away. Soon, the woods are alive with the sound.

I hear a slashing and find a Career smiling down at me.

"Look what I caught," taunts Marvel. "A little flying birdie. Try to fly away now," he teases, leveling a spear with my face.

I'm quivering with fear, but I call, "Katniss! Katniss!"

I see her now, she's following the mockingjays, calling, "Rue! Rue! I'm coming!". She sees me and runs for me, but I know it's too late. Marvel draws back his spear, and lets it fly...

I feel the cold point disappear into my stomach. The pain shatters me, but I don't scream. Katniss kills the boy, but my head is spinning so badly, I want to ask her to kill me, to end the pain. She kneels down beside me, her face twisted with pain and agony. Her bow is reloaded, and she shouts, "Are there more"? Are there more?" It occurs to me she may have lost her hearing. I shout "No," back at her many times before she calms down. I reach my hand out, asking wordlessly for her to help me, to guide me through my final moments.

"You blew up the food?" I whisper weakly. I want her to have a chance. I want Katniss to win, because she has been so strong, for her family, for me, for her district. She has to win.

"Every last bit," she says, agonized.

"You have to win," I say. She has to. For me. She has to win.

"I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now,"

I want to tell her how good she has been for me, how she is like a big sister to me, how I wish I could be as good as her, but my voice fails. I can feel life ebbing away from me with each second. "Don't go," is all I can get out.

"'Course not. Staying right here," she promises. She puts my head in her lap, staying with me.

What will be my final request? A demand, a meaningful one. What is the last thing I want in my life? I think of Reap and Gyana, the mockingjays all around me, the Capitols bloodthirstiness. I think of the one thing that cannot be touched by the Capitol, or the Games, or the cruel Peacekeepers. It's music I want. After a life filled with music, all I want as my companion to death is music.

"Sing," I whisper.

She deliberates for a moment, then acknowledges my final request.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daises guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

I can feel my breathing slowing, my eyes closing and my heart fading. Katniss's song describes the very place I would like to go to. A world with no troubles. A place free of cruelty, of the Capitol. A place with mockingjays and no troubles, no hunger, no Games, where everyone could live in peace. This is the place I want to go....

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away_

_A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray_

_Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay_

_And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daises guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

Katniss's musical voice fades away, and I feel myself being drawn to that place. A world with no troubles...


	2. The Mockingjays' World: Mockingjay

**The Mockingjays' World**

Mockingjays' POV

_"Mama," I asked. "Where did you used to live?"_

_"I used to live in a beautiful place, with streams and meadows and big lakes to drink from," said Mama._

_"What about your mama?"_

_"My mama was the best singer. She had a best friend...he wasn't one of us, but he sung beautiful melodies..."_

_"But what did he sing?" I asked, pressing for an answer._

_"I don't know. All I know is that he taught my mama, she taught me, and I will teach you."_

_"What does it sound like?" I asked, begging for an answer._

_"It sounded like-" And just as she was going to start singing, a big nest appeared in the sky, and a net dropped over me and a big monster with snowy white fur caught me in his hand._

_"That's the last one, I'll put it in the hovercraft." he said monotonously, with no music in his voice._

_"Mama, mama!" I screamed as the monsters put me in a cage. "Don't leave me!"_

_And then everything disappeared._

When I was a chick, my mama would tell me all about the world, about big trees with luscious fruit, and a blue lake so huge it seemed to stretch across to the edge of the world. That is, before the big monsters took me away from her.

Now, we stare at the little chick.

She wasn't one of us, but she sung just like us. She had no wings, but she flew through the trees. She didn't live in a nest, but we were sure she was a little lost chick. I did swoop down to meet her once, chittering, "Did you lose your mama?" The chick didn't answer back, but she sang such a beautiful song in thanks that I had to sing along with her. Then she flew off.

Presently, the little chick is flying in the trees again, leaping from branch to branch. I follow her to somewhere I've never seen before. Mama didn't take me to a lot of places when I was little, so I trust the little chick to know the way.

She takes us to a beautiful little clearing, where she stops and takes her breath. Suddenly, she falls into a nest! This must be her nest, and her mama must be coming soon, coming to meet her.

She's trying to climb out, but we don't know why. Her mama's coming, what's she trying to do? Suddenly, I see a big dark monster with a dangerous-looking stick approach the little chick. It doesn't look like her mama, so I swoop down to take a closer look. He seems surprised to see her, and that's when we see the mother mockingjay coming. She's singing too, just like us, so I sing back. She looks relieved that her baby is so close. Then the big monster throws the stick at the baby chick.

The mama bird looks terrified. She throws her own stick at the bad monster, who falls to his knees. I'm glad that the big monster didn't hurt the baby chick.

The mama bird kneels down next to the baby chick, and is singing to her. The mama bird has a beautiful voice. She's crying now, though we don't know why. Her baby is safe. Then, for some reason, the mama bird picks some flowers and puts them on the baby bird. Of course, the baby chick needs some bedding for the cold nights. The mama bird holds three fingers of her left hand out to the sleeping chick, and leaves.

We all don't know why she left, but just as she leaves, a big nest comes over and scoops the little chick up. This must be her nest, where she sleeps. But just as the chick is lifted up into it, she disappears.

Into the sky.


	3. Shimmer, Sparkle, Glimmer: Marvel

**Shimmer, Sparkle, Glimmer**

Marvel's POV

_"I...love you...Glimmer..." I mumble hesitantly to her during training. And I did. She was the prettiest girl in the Training Center, the fastst runner, the most skilled person in the entire District Two. I knew everyone loved her. But I still hoped that she loved me the most._

_She stares at me, shocked, then flings a spear onto a target. Dead center._

_Glimmer stares at my face for a second, then sighs. "Humph...you're the twenty-third person to tell me that. But I'll only love you if you win the Games." She saunters off arrogantly, leaving my heart ravaged and cruelly broken._

_"Glimmer..." I murmur incoherently as she walks away. My trainer, Brusila, shouts at me._

_"Marvel! What are you doing? Get back to work!"_

_I look back at the training doors, where Glimmer's beautiful figure was striding away. Then I train._

_* * *_

_It would seem an ironic joke that I was reaped in the same year as Glimmer._

_The moment the escort said, "Marvel Warbley", my hopes for Glimmer seemed to drain away from me. I look anxiously into the crowd, hoping that someone wants to volunteer, but none do. No one wants to compete against Glimmer._

_Her emerald green eyes probe my shocked face. I have nothing to her. Her blonde hair is like cornsilk, and her pale skin alabaster. No. I cannot kill her. That moment, I swore I would rather die than kill Glimmer. I wanted Glimmer to win._

I'm awake before I hear the deafening crack. The sound of sawing vibrates off of the ground, and I'm on my feet. I see Glimmer, asleep.

"Glimmer!" I say, but it's too late. A pale gray shape falls to the ground, right next to Glimmer. I run for her, blindly. That's when I see the tracker jackers. Time seems to freeze as I rush over to protect her, but the nest falls mercilessly. And it cracks open, a swarm of the deadly insects pouring out.

"No!" I shout as I watch the wasps attack Glimmer, jolted out of sleep.

"Marvel!" she calls out, begging. I always wanted to save her. I had always wanted her love. But in that instant, I knew she couldn't be saved. The wasps moved in on her, and she slipped away from consciousness.

I feel the wasps stinging me as well. They burn dully, but it cannot surpass the pain of watching Glimmer twitch to death. Shimmer, sparkle, Glimmer. The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart. And this time, I know Katniss is the one at fault. I search the tree for her, but I can't see her in the utter chaos of the moment.

The stings send me into agony. I see Bread Boy running for the lake, and wordlessly I follow. But I take a glance back at Glimmer, who's still twitching in agony. I want to help her, to save her. But still I run for safety, and away from her. And I remember my promise, that I'd rather die than watch Glimmer die. But it seems insignificant now, warring with my desire to save myself.

I realize I've reached the lake, and I plunge in. The water's blissfully cool, and it eradicates the physical pain, but not the pain of seeing Glimmer in pain. And so I run back for her. But too late.

Her cannon sounds, echoing through the plain, through my mind, through my heart, through my soul. And I arrive just in time to watch Katniss, the murderer, sprint away with Glimmer's arrows. As I watch Glimmer, I realize that her shape is morphing, shivering. And she's melting away.

_No!_ This must be a tracker jacker hallucination. But I strain to see one last image of her beautiful face, and then it's like she never existed.

Shimmer, sparkle, Glimmer, gone. I fall to my knees, and lie there. Glimmer, gone. My promise broken. My heart aching. I hate the Capitol for doing this to us, to me, to Glimmer. And as I fade away into tracker jacker unconsciousness, I see her face for the last time. Glimmer hovers in the sky, looking down at me. I realize it's the death recap. And just like that, she's gone.

Shimmer, sparkle, Glimmer.


	4. Both of Us: Cato Clove

**Both Of Us**

Clove's POV

_I was a hungry little girl. He was a sickly boy. Our families were both starving to death, and I was dying quickly. The only was to get food was to join the Training Center._

_Cato was kind enough to help me get there. The doctors fixed me up, then gave me food. As long as I excelled in training, my family got food. I also developed a relationship in Cato._

_He was like a big brother to me. Kind, big, protecting. If a bully punched me, he'd give him a broken nose. Under his protection, no one could hurt me. No one..._

_..but the Capitol. I wasn't planning to go to the Games. Training was enough. But then I was reaped. Cato knew he couldn't protect me from home, so he rushed in and volunteered as well. He decided to protect me with his own life._

_Then the rule change. We'd been living off of wild animals for a few days now, shivering at night and sweating in the daytime. I didn't want Cato to die. He didn't want to kill me. Then when the rule changed, we were overjoyed. We could both win! Both of us could win. Both of us._

The golden Cornucopia looms brightly in the morning sun, taunting everyone to go to it and take their prize. The paper white table has four packs on it: Foxy Girl, Fire Girl, District Eleven, and mine's. Cato's out there right now, hunting for Thresh, and the others. Foxy has already taken her pack, and it seems that Fire Girl is ready to take her pretty little backpack. Medicine, for Lover Boy. Ha! Two in one. Once I kill Lover Girl, Lover Boy will die soon. As she rushes in, I sprint after her, pulling out my knives.

Whoosh! My knife flies after her. She turn to me and blocks it with her pathetic bow. Children's tools. But just as dangerous as a machine gun if you leave your back unprotected....

The arrow whizzes directly back at me. _Clove!_ I shout at myself._ Stupid! _I arch my back to the right, but the arrow catches me in the left arm. Stupid. District Twelve's aim is so deadly.

It takes me a few seconds to pull the arrow out and keep going. As she's running, I throw another knife at her head. She isn't expecting it and it slices her forehead. This wound confuses and disorients her for a few seconds, but she still manages to send an arrow at me. I dodge it smoothly and pin her to the ground, just like we learned in training. Humiliate the victim when you're sure no one else is coming. Cato should be able to keep Thresh off of me.

Katniss stares up arrogantly at me, like I have to pay her to kill her. I examine her backpack. Probably some medicine, to save her boyfriend's life. Ha. Like anyone would believe that stupid mushy story.

"Where's your boyfriend, District Twelve? Still hanging on?" I snarl viciously at her.

"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," she growls back. She's got an attitude. I wish Glimmer was here. She could make anyone feel embarrassed just by being near them. Then Katniss shouts, "Peeta!"

I cut off her voice, then check to make sure no one's coming. Nobody. "Liar," I say. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in that pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy? Too bad he'll never get it." I open up my jacket, lined with my arsenal of my favorite knives. I pull out my very favorite. A small, sharp scalpel. Beautiful and deadly. "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show," I say cockily.

She tries pathetically to shake me off; doesn't she know that it feels like a quivering leaf trying to break my hold? Sad. I smile down sadistically at her. "Forget it, District Twelve. We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally...what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" I ask her, grinning. "Now, where to start?"

I wipe her pretty face clean of blood. She has those gray eyes that most District Twelve people have. Like her mentor, Haywire or something. Dark hair. Like mine, but darker. Almost looking harmless at the moment. "I think...I think we'll start with your mouth." She glares back defiantly at me. Yes, that blabbering mouth of hers. Useless. All she can do with it is kiss, so why does she need it? I trace her lips with my knife. "Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" I ask. Unbelievably, she spits into my face. I scowl at her angrily. "All right then. Let's get started."

I bring the knife down to her lips. Suddenly, I'm in the air! What-

"What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" shouts Thresh. I'm on the ground now, and I scramble back like a cornered mouse. Cato? Where's Cato? "No! No, it wasn't me!" Cato, why aren't you here?

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her? You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?" he demands.

"No! No, I-" Suddenly, I see the stone. The big, hard, cold stone. I scream, "Cato! Cato!" But it's too late, Death is coming and I know it. I hear him call my name, but I know I will die. He will never make it...

Suddenly, I'm in the Training Center.

_"Hey! Clove! Where's your big brother?" taunted Lora. I hated her. "Isn't he going to protect you?"_

_"I don't need his protection," I snarled back._

_"Well let's see about that," she laughed._

_Her fist came down on my head..._

Thresh brings the rock down on my head. I feel a burst of pain, exploding into a million fireworks that cloud my vision. Everything is swirling, Corn Boy, Lover Girl, the Cornucopia. I fall to my knees, unable to get up. _I'm sorry, Cato_, I think_. I'm sorry, Mother, Father, Lorena, my sister, I'm sorry. I let you down._

Then, as the world fades to black, I see one last glimpse of him. Cato, rushing in to save my life. _No, Cato, you won't make it. It will never be the both of us. I'm dying._

_There will never be the both of us..._

* * *

Cato's POV

_Clove....my Clove. Clove who I rescued from the streets many, many years ago when we both went to training together. She was like the little sister I never had. She was small, and sickly. She wouldn't have lasted a day long if I hadn't scooped her up with my strong fourteen year-old arms. I carried her all the way to the Training Center, where you could start training to be a Career. She excelled at it, made me proud. I was like an older brother to her. I share my meager meals with her, I protected her from the brutal trainers even when I was still classified as a weakling. When I grew strong and burly, I walked alongside Clove so that no one would dare to come near her, to hurt her..._

But she was hurting. Right now. My Clove was dying.

I watched her. I watched Thresh pound the stone on her head, so hard that I could see her head take on a deformed shape. No! Clove was dying. When she finally shouted for me, which she had waited too long to -trying to protect her honor, it was too late. I knew that she was going to finish off District Twelve for me, and she was capable, so I let her. I thought she was. Until Thresh found her.

I have never been afraid of Thresh before. He was strong, but he was not skilled. Not as skilled as me with a spear. But enough for Clove. Enough to kill Clove, the only person I have ever cared for...

One thing I knew: Thresh was going to die. He was going to die for killing my Clove. That was all that was going through my head as I stalked Thresh.

District Twelve had run away fast enough. She was responsible for Clove's death as well, because she distracted Clove while Thresh was coming up behind her. The girl on fire would die, as well.

But Thresh first.

* * *

I hike through the grassy plains. Stupid District Eleven, for adapting their tributes to the land this way. For making things harder for me. I know Thresh must be close now, but it's raining and I can barely see a thing. I've been hiking for six hours and still no trace. When I get back to District Two, I'm going to start a rain-training program. Finally I sit on the wet ground to rest.

Suddenly, I see a movement in the rushes. Thresh?

"District Eleven! If you can hear me, come out! I'm waiting for you!"

For Clove, I added silently.

I hear a stomping in the field. Ah, here comes Thresh, brushing his knife.

"You kill the little girl, I kill your Clove," he says. "All fair now."

"I didn't waste my time with Rue, District One did. I heard your little friend Katniss avenged her. Is that why you let her go? Coward," I retorted.

"So what are we waiting for?"

I don't answer. I level my spear with his chest, where that cold inhumane heart of his is beating. I know my eyes are wet but I make no effort in wiping it away. My dignity is not important now. His death is. I notice that the two packs are on Threshes shoulder. Wonder what he got.

He pulls out two long knives and lunges for me. I leap away, and he misses, plunging into the ground. But he's too fast, and he straightens up before I turn around.

"I give it to you, District Two, you're fast," he says.

"You're fast too, but I'm faster. And smarter." I reply.

He thrusts out with his knife and I block it with my spear. I scamper away to throw it but he catches me and pins me to the ground. I pull my sword out of my belt and slash his face before he can restrain my hands. He yelps in agony, giving me the time to stand up and pin him down. I take out my knives and he looks at me in hate, terror, and pain.

"So I guess you're hoping I'll use my spear and make it fast," I taunt.

"No, I'm hoping I can get up and kill you so I can make a fool of your district," he spits back, scowling at me.

"Well, today just isn't your lucky day, I'm going to make it nice and long," I say, holding up my knife. "I'm going to give you the same end that District Twelve should have gotten."

I plunge my sword down on his lips. Tough guy, he didn't scream or anything. He lies there, glaring at me all the way until the cannon fires and I know he is dead.

Wiping my sword, I walk over to the backpacks he forgot. I sling them on, then spit on Thresh's dead body and I walk away. The hovercraft descends on the murderer.

I smile at the plain. Clove has been avenged. I have killed her murderer. Now I must win the Hunger Games, make her unforgettable, making every single citizen in Panem know Clove's loss. Who's my next target? There's the girl from Five, and Lover Boy and the Girl on Fire. I'll kill Katniss first, then Five, and I'll save Peeta for last and humiliate him, because if I had killed Katniss, Clove would never have died...

But Katniss, _first._


	5. I Am Home: Thresh

**I Am Home  
**

Thresh's POV

I frantically start running, two large backpacks slung over my back. I'm grateful for the dark color, because it offers some concealment in this early dawn, but the sun will rise up very soon and these backpacks will be trouble. I can see Cato now, he's barreling towards me, but I have left such a light track he will probably take a day to find me. My throat is so parched, but I dare not turn around towards the lake. Better, I think, to get back to my camp and rest first.

By noon, I have reached my own little camp in this grassy plain. A large hill conceals me from Cato and the rest of the tributes. Slowly, I allow myself to relax and take deep, slow breaths. I inspect the backpacks. Mine has a bottle of water and a few knives. Cato's has some kind of skintight body armor. I don't pull it on, fearing there might be something wrong with it. What do I need it for? A spear would penetrate it easily. Perhaps an arrow couldn't pierce it, but that District Twelve girl looks like she isn't going to last much longer.

I take the afternoon to find a source of water. I've been living off water form sponsors for days. This endless plain is so large, who knows what could be in it? Plus, there is the fear of Cato, who is probably combing the field, looking for me. Surely he knows I killed Clove, not Katniss or that fox-faced girl. So I take precautions and stay within 20 yards of my camp.

How quickly the time flies. It's already dusk, and I haven't found anything. On the way back, I see that my snare has caught a prairie dog. I smoke it in last night's coals because I can't risk a fire and fighting in the dark isn't my strong suit.

When I wake up, it's raining. Heavily. I take this as a good thing because surely, Cato wouldn't try hunting me in this weather? I picture him, struggling to build a snug shelter out of the grass stalks, and sharpening his weapons. Cato verses Thresh, I think. The audience is probably dying to see that. The audience. The reason why I'm here, to die a horrible death, as entertainment for these bloodthirsty people who starves and tortures and kills us. I'm hoping that with this weather, the Gamemakers wouldn't be particularly interested in driving us together, because that would make it too quick. Too easy a death.

Suddenly, I hear it. The snap of a twig. I barely have time to reach for my knife when Cato comes, eyes shining with anticipation, or is it tears? His spear is in throwing position, but he doesn't do it. He wants to make my death as slow as possible, make me suffer. But I won't go down all that easily. I pull my knife, and the two of us slash and slash at each other. The adrenaline rushing through my body, the sweat pouring down my face....All of a sudden, he pins me to the ground. I'm thrashing around now, trying to reach my knife, but Cato is faster. He grips my own knife and cuts my face.

The pain is so blinding I let out a horrible scream. The blood flows down my face, into my eyes so that I am blind, I can't even see what is happening. I let myself go limp, I have lost, this is why and how and when I will die...

No. No. I can't go down so easily. With new-found strength I push myself up and push Cato on the ground. My hands scrabble around for a knife I can't see. Finally, I reach it. I sink it in him, somehow, because the blood is blinding me but he manages to pin me back on the ground. I brace myself for the agony. Surprisingly, it happens swiftly and fast. His knife finds my chest, and he sinks it in. Then, I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Is this what being dead feels like? I feel no more pain, no more, not at all. I realize that I'm closing my eyes. When I open them, my mouth gapes open in awe.

Everything that I ever could have dreamed of. An open mountain meadow, surrounded by swaying maples, guarded by dancing daisies. An azure sky, with puffy clouds, and a beautiful mountain stream. Luscious fruits I don't even recognize adorn the rocking trees. This could not be Death, I thought, it's too easy, too pleasurable.

And that's when I saw her. The little girl, followed by my parents and dead family. Rue smiles a big wide smile, and says in a musical voice, "We've been waiting for you! We had thought you'd never come."

"Of course I'd come," I say in a voice newly unburdened of sorrow, of loss, of fear. My mother dared to look up. "Thresh," she says, "Welcome home."

Yes, I was finally home. Where there is no Panem, no Capitol, no Games, no Cato.

I am home. Finally.


	6. Locked in Night: Foxface

This is Chapter Thirteen from my first fanfic, Use Your Wits. Go read it if you want to know who Riknor is, who is Jakopo and Madra, and what does laboratory rats have to do with District Five. And in my world, Foxface's name is Jennella.

**Locked in Night**

Foxface's POV

I drift out of my peaceful oblivion to the best surprise I've ever had: It stopped raining. I resist the urge to leap outside and shout at the top of my lungs, "It stopped raining!" for surely the others are out as well, enjoying the sunshine.

I step outside cautiously. Fortunately, there is nobody around. I quickly find a patch of blueberries, recognizing them from my previous container of berries from the feast. I fill my containers and pluck every berry from the bushes, and I eat them hungrily. The sweet berries are nice and plump, due to the incessant rainfall. I eat them quickly and soon they are all gone.

_Rats_, I think to myself, feeling homesick. _Laboratory rats._

Those lab rats were the most pitiful things. They would roam the streets aimlessly after their owners, the scientists, were through with them. The various experiments performed on the creatures left them helpless and unable to forage for food. Within a week of suffering, they would die. I've seen them pleading desperately to me for food. Some are so altered they remind me of humans. My father's murine face was common among the rats. I'd see the familiar deep-set eyebrows, the pointed chin, and the long nose on many rat face's.

I go around, looking for more food. Right away I spot some fish in the river, but it hasn't calmed down enough for a snare to hold. The fish are wildly swept by the relentless current and flail helplessly. _Like a piece in the river, Jennella. Like how you are just a piece in the Capitol's Games_, I think to myself.

I'm still hungry, though. And now that the sun has signified that it's noon, I feel utterly burning hot and vulnerable under the baking sun. I was right about the Gamemakers tweaking the temperature. Now it feels so hot I could fry an egg. I wish I had an egg right now. I'd gladly eat it raw.

Hours pass, and I still haven't found anything. I'm starting to think I'm starving again when I hear the footsteps. They are so loud I can be sure it is Peeta, for Katniss and Cato are certified velvet-treaders.

Yes, it's Peeta alright. He's gathering some type of berries, and I'm so crazed with hunger I have this terrible impulse to run up and grab them out of his hand. He takes a handful of the berries and sets them on a little sheet of plastic with a blob of oily cheese. _Bulls-eye!_ I think to myself. I can live off of Peeta for a while. Surely he is in league with Katniss, and they have a lot of food.

I quickly grab some cheese and the berries with a light hand. I don't want them to know I'm stealing from them. I eat the cheese first- it's unlike any type of cheese I have ever tasted, so soft and fatty. Goat cheese. I remember stealing something like this from the goat-herder's shop. The cheese is hearty and rich, and it brings back many memories from District Five.

I finish it all too quickly, and I begin to panic as I see Katniss coming closer. I dash off to a closed off clearing by the stream and I shove a few of the berries into my mouth. It doesn't occur to me that these could be dangerous; if Katniss and Peeta are eating it, it should be safe. From what I've seen of Katniss, she's very adept with plants.

It's only a matter of time before I feel the burning in my throat. I start to panic. Was it a trap? Had I just eaten my death sentence? The questions answer themselves as I sink to the ground in agony.

In that one moment of pain, I see everything. Everything I've tried to work for, everything Riknor and I have done to keep ourselves alive, everything I've done in the arena flashes back to me before my eyes. I hear my name being called; the pain in Riknor's brown eyes as he bids me a final farewell to the Games; the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. I remember the conversation with an unbearable clarity:

_I sit down on the chair nervously, then I look around evasively, trying to keep up with my sly and evasive technique. Caesar notices._

_"So, you're quite a vixen. That's a female fox, of course," he says lightly, trying to force a joke out of me._

_"A vixen?" I ask. "Possibly, but I see myself more like...a kit. That is a fox's child, of course."_

_"So you're going to be the vulpine one this year, aren't you, Jennella Haley?" he quits playfully. I try to look away and answer his questions quickly for the rest of the interview. The buzzer sounds and I stride back to my chair, glancing back furtively.  
_

My mind whirls back to the present. What kinds of berries are these? The black berries pore into my head now, uprooting the answer in my memories.

_I came back with today's steal with a crow of mine, Agrippina. She's not the quickest, or the sneakiest, or the lightest, but boy can she find things. Today she comes back with a handful of some unusual berries._

_"You sure this is good to eat?" I asked the little bird. She flutters to my hand and eats one, confirming that it is edible. I raise my hand to my mouth just as Riknor comes back with Madra, my other crow._

_"No, Jennella!" he cries._

_"What?" I ask him panickedly. Riknor had a reputation for overreacting._

_"Give me the berries."_

_"The berries?" It wasn't like Riknor to take my food.  
_

_"Give them to me!" he says. He reaches for them I give them to him just as Agrippina slumps to the ground and caws lightly, then falls silent._

_"Agrippina!" I whisper in a pained voice._

_"She's dead, Jennella. This is nightlock," he says, pointing to the berries I was about to consume. "They're poisonous, and they put these near the fruits to catch thieves. Whoever eats them dies very quickly. It's how my parents-" Then he cuts off, pained._

_"Your parents died eating this?" I say, horrified. He nods silently._

_"They're locked in night now. It's nightlock..."_

_Nightlock!_ I think just as I crumple in on myself. I curse myself for making Riknor watch me die the same way his parents did. The pain moves through me in waves, burning through me while I silently cry out in agony. It's too much for me. It's over.

So ironic. After I make it all the way here, to the final four, I die eating berries that Riknor himself had pointed out to me. _Stupid Jennella_. I can feel my breathing slowing, my heart frantically trying to keep up with its new exertion, and I know life is leaking out of me by the second. I can't even think straight now; all that I see in my mind is Riknor, agonized, staring at the television as he watches me die. _No! Riknor....._

My heart gives a final beat, and it's as if a gray mist has filled my head. I barely get to think my goodbyes before the cannon sounds and I feel myself slip away.

* * *

In a humble District Five, a cry of pain is heard. No one hears it, no one cares, and no one can take their eyes off of Jennella Haley being carried away by the hovercraft. The pain is the worst kind of pain- it is heartbreak, grief, and remorse. It drowns you in its assault of painful memories, and it scars you for life. Riknor Haley's dark-brown eyes fill to the brim with pain as he watches his true love endure an agonizing death. He closes his eyes, and turns off the television. Who cares if the Peacekeepers arrest him? He's already so far gone. He feels himself planting his feet on the crazy bridge, preparing to jump off.

Luckily he does not watch the Games, for the worst kind of torture is awaiting the eyes of the citizens of Panem...


	7. Listen: Primrose

**Listen**

Primrose's POV

"Primrose Everdeen."

The name strikes me at all sides, and I briefly consider that she got it wrong. No, it's not Prim. It's someone else. Not me.  
But then I see the panicked look from Katniss, my sister, and I know I'm the one. I will be the lucky tribute to die this year.  
How will my family cope? Katniss, my mother...I will die, for sure. I'm just a twelve year old. No skills, no training at all. Katniss would have a better chance at winning...

I feel myself moving, as if in a dream, towards the podium, towards Effie. The others make way for me and many in the audience mutter and frown. Twelve year-olds in the Games are not popular. I see that relieved look in the faces of many kids, knowing that they will survive another year. Katniss's face is unreadable, as if the mind has left her body. Suddenly, I see her running this way. _No, Katniss. Let me die._ She shoves me and restrains me with her arm as she steps forward. Gale's eyes are smoldering as she says her next words:

"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

The air is knocked out of me. Katniss can't volunteer. She can't die. I scream, "No! No! Let me go!", but Gale is strong and he carries me away as Katniss continues to walk towards the podium. My eyes well up with tears. She's going to die. But she can't. I don't want her to die.

Katniss bravely steps up to the stage, and everyone gasps. No one, not one person has volunteered for forty years. Nobody, and here was a brave sixteen-year-old stepping up to the stage.

"What's your name?" asks Effie in a jubilant voice. Finally she will get moved up to a better district while the rest of us die.

"Katniss Everdeen." My sister's voice quavers, as if she can't speak anymore. I once again attempt to rush up the stage, but Gale restrains me so I can't move.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister." Effie is so happy, her voice rises an octave higher.

Soon, Katniss is transported off the stage. I'm screaming now, but she doesn't seem to hear. Has the general insanity of the Games already reached my sister? I continue to pull and tug at Gale but he refuses to let me go.

"Just let me go," I whisper to him. His gray eyes, so much like my sister's, are filled with sadness.

"She wants to go, Prim. I have to let her."

"You sure Peeta's going to protect her?"

"I sure hope so. If he comes back alive without her, I will personally skewer him through the gut with my arrows." His voice is too paranoid to be joking.

The Peacekeepers motion for us to go in. Mother and I first. I rush in and sit on Katniss's lap, knowing that it may be for the last time. She comforts us and gives us instructions on how to survive. Gale will help us, and I should give him some cheese and Mother should assist him in medicine and other things like that. I nod numbly, but I can't believe that this is all she's saying. She is going to leave us with that?

"Come home, okay?" I suddenly ask.

"I will. Then we'd be as rich as Haymitch," she says, her eyes welling up with tears that she refuses to shed. She is so strong. Much stronger than me.

"I don't need to be rich. Just promise me you'll come home."

"I will."

And with these words, the Peacekeepers drag us away. Darius, the red-headed Peacekeeper gives me a sad look. He's not too happy about this, either.

Soon enough, a short line of people arrive. I watch them warily. Madge, Gale, and...Peeta's dad? The baker? I wonder why he would come if Katniss is about to try to kill his son. Peeta's dad goes in. I can only pray that he's not trying to harm her. Apparently nothing happens, and he walks out, followed b Madge who hastily runs in, clutching a gold pin. Soon after it's Gale's turn. He exchanges a nod with me as he walks in, his face devoid of any emotion.

Minutes pass. The suspense is agonizing. What is Gale saying to Katniss? Any tips for survival, any last-minute good-byes? After a while, the Peacekeepers get bored and drag him out. Gale is screaming at the top of his lungs, and I don't think Katniss can hear him.

"You have to win! I love you, Katniss!"

No, she didn't hear him at all.


End file.
